| Thundercade | |
|---|---|
 Arcade flyer | |
| Developers | SETA Micronics (NES) |
| Publishers | SETA American Sammy (NES) |
| Platforms | Arcade, NES |
| Release | Arcade NES |
| Genre | Scrolling shooter2 |
| Modes | Single-player3 Multiplayer3 |
Thundercade, also known as Twin Formation and 特殊部隊UAG (Tokushu Butai U.A.G., "Special Forces U.A.G. (Un-Attached Grenadier))", is a vertically scrolling shooter developed by SETA and released as an arcade game in 1987. A version for the Nintendo Entertainment System from American Sammy was released in 1989.
The original arcade flyer establishes that despite a 199X treaty eliminating all nuclear weapons, a certain northerly nation was suspected of developing such weapons in secret. Therefore, the United States of America military sends in the U.A.G. elite unit consisting of an armed motorcyclist and a support bomber to quell the threat.4 The American NES version's manual describes a slightly different story, casting players as a part of Operation Thundercade, a special forces operation battling against the nuclear threat of the Atomic Age Terrorist Organization of Miracali (AATOM).56
Gameplay
Players control a motorcycle equipped with sidecar cannons and backed up by a B-7 bomber.5 There are four levels in the game: an unnamed city, the terrorists' military base, the woodland regions, and the fortress containing the nuclear power plant.6 Bosses include a submarine along with other screen-filling enemies.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Thundercade on their December 15, 1987 issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the month.7
References
References
- Thundercade Arcade information at GameFAQs
- Thundercade NES information at GameFAQs
- Thundercade at Game Kult
- "Tokusyu Butai UAG - Taito (Video Game, 1987) - Japan".
- Thundercade at MobyGames
- Thundercade at allgame
- "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 322. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 December 1987. p. 25.